Monday, April 24, 2006

Folks I am so excited! I have been researching recipes for the "Survey of the Decades" section on Retro Housewife, which has not been easy, and I dug up a treasure trove from the 1950s. The source? My father of all people! Turns out he had an unpublished booklet of recipes that military wives put together in the 50's. Said wives were from the Language Institute, or, at least their husbands were, so the recipe collections is somewhat of the World's Greatest Food Hits of the 50's.

As soon as I figure out how to get them off the paper and into my laptop, I will share!

Sunday, April 16, 2006

New clothes have enough chemicals in them to kill a horse. Babies and children are very sensitive to them and consequently all new clothes should be run through the wash at least once before wearing.

Another alternative is to buy your clothing second hand. My mother-in-law has always bought our kids second hand clothing. At first I thought she was just cheap, but then I realized that she was absolutely right after I saw the results of chemical clothing on my kids' skin (Itchy red rashes from wearing the new, unwashed clothing.) Usually a good wash or two would render the garmet harmless.

In the US, all children's sleepwear has to be flame retardant which is accomplished by soaking them in chemicals, so it is best to avoid them all together and opt for the leggings/underwear route. If you are concerned about your kids spontaneously combusting, don't let them smoke in bed.

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

When we are standing in the alter, staring at the man we love, it is hard to imagine that one of the roles we will play, despite our best intentions to remain the glorious, sexy vixen he fell in love with, is mom.

That's right, I said it, MOM. When does this happen? When he gets sick. There is nothing else in the world that will turn your big hunk of a guy into a 6 month old curled up in the fetal position faster than a bad cold. And if you don't notice and show the proper amount of concern, the coughing will get a bit louder, the groans a little groanier and his normally booming voice will diminish to a barely audible whisper.

Enter MOM.

This is the time when it is perfectly acceptable, even required, to be motherly; take out the thermometer, make an emergency trip to the store to stock up on Kleenex, juice, cold medicine and the "special request" items and every 20 minutes or so, put your hand on his forehead and say "Yup, I think you have a fever". Then you can administer aspirin or cold medicine and some nasty tasting tea, switch on the TV to his favorite channel and go about your business secure in the knowledge that you have just reassured your temporary "baby", that yes, you will be there for him in "worse".